Man shot during triple homicide in Bradley County recovering

Bradley County Sheriff vehicles surround the home at 325 Baker Bridge Road in Cleveland, Tenn., where a triple homicide occurred.

Photo by
Alex Washburn/Times Free Press.

In a hoarse voice, Kenneth Kilgore whispered through the phone, "Help me, I've been shot."

"Where are they at?" he whispered just minutes before help arrived, "I don't want to die."

Kilgore, 33, of Charleston, Tenn., called Bradley County 911 nearly two weeks ago from the bathroom of his home, telling the dispatcher he believed his partner and his partner's parents were dead. He was right.

He is the only survivor of a quadruple shooting at 325 Baker Bridge Road on Sept. 30. He was flown by helicopter to Erlanger hospital, where he remained in the intensive care unit until this week, authorities said.

Charles Boling Jr., Kilgore's partner, and Boling's parents, Charles and Gail Boling, were found dead inside the house when authorities arrived about 7:15 a.m., said Bradley County Sheriff's Capt. Brian Quinn.

Kilgore told dispatchers he was lying in bed when he heard Boling Sr. burst through the front door, carrying a rifle and seemingly drunk, according to the 911 tape recording released Wednesday. Boling Jr. had tried to stop his father from entering when he was shot, Kilgore said over the phone.

Then Boling Sr. shot his wife, Gail, and shot Kilgore in the back before shooting himself, authorities said.

Kilgore might have blacked out for nearly 30 minutes before hobbling to the bathroom to call 911, Quinn said.

As emergency workers and police took 16 minutes to arrive at the house on the northeast corner of Bradley County near the Polk County line, a dispatcher stayed on the line with Kilgore, attempting to calm him down as he pleaded for help.

Several days before the shooting, Gail Boling had gone to stay with her son and Kilgore after she and her husband had a heated argument, Quinn said. Police said the couple had some domestic problems and Boling Jr. had offered to let his mom stay at the house.

For some reason, Boling Sr. became angry that his wife was staying with their son and decided to go over to the house, Quinn said.

This wasn't the first time the 67-year-old man had made threats.

A month before the shooting, the Bolings' daughter, Priscilla McDonald, had called McMinn County authorities to report her father had a gun and was threatening to kill himself, a 911 report shows.

Police found Boling Sr. intoxicated at his Etowah home and, when he made threats to harm himself, he was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the report shows.

But an official report wasn't filed, according to the McMinn County Sheriff's Office.

Quinn said the investigation into the shooting will be closed in the next couple of days.

"It's probably been one of the worst scenes I've seen," he said, "as far as that many people down."